: about every two minutes or so, my upstairs toilet flushes a small amount of water. Before I bought the house, the previos owners said that ther septic tank filled due to a leaky toilet. is this a normal cycle or do i have a problem, and howe do i fix it

Your problem is very likely a leaking tank valve. That's also called a "flapper valve" in some plumbing environments. It is positioned at the bottom of the tank that holds the water which activates the flush when you press the handle. First, remove the lid to the tank. Check the interior of the tank for evidence of corrosion or other signs of contamination in the water. The water should be reasonably clean, without slime or other buildup. Turn off the water supply to the toilet tank (at the valve; usually just below the left side of the toilet and below the tank (near the floor) and flush the toilet. Clean the interior of the tank using clean rags (dont' use chemical cleaners) and dry it throughly. Check the underside of the flapper valve where it seats against the outlet and wipe it clean also. If there are signs of deterioration on the face of the flapper valve, replace it. If not, you may be able to save it. The flapper valve surface (where it mates with the outlet) must be clean, free of deterioration and perfectly flat. Wipe the surface of the tank outlet (where the flapper valve rests) the turn the water back on and see if you've solved the problem. If not, you might try repeating the previous steps and wiping the surface of the flapper valve with a LIGHT coat of petroleum jelly as a temporary fix. The go out and purchase a new valve. I don't recommend trying to put a new flapper valve on the existing outlet seat. After market replacement flapper valves often fail to seat properly and you'll end up replacing the entire valve eventually anyway. Oh, and while we're at it, avoid using chemical cleaners in the toilet tank. They tend to eat up the rubber flapper valve (and,or the seat of the valve outlet) causing them to experience an abbreviated life expectancy. Good Luck.